FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
HealthFRANCESCO CLEMENTI is Associate Professor in the field 12E2 (IUS/21, Comparative Public Law) in the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Perugia.He was researcher in Public Law at the same Faculty (2006-2007), and previously Research Fellow in Comparative Public Law in the Faculty of Law of the University La Sapienza, Rome (2004-2006), and PhD in “Theory of the State and comparative political Institutions” (Cycle XIV – 2003). In 1998, he won the annual Graduation prize by “Primo Levi Foundation”.
He is member of the Board of the Doctorate in Public Law (Università di Perugia) and professor of Italian and comparative constitutional law in the Master Program of the Institute for Defense Studies (I.A.S.D). He is component of the Working Group “Section Constitutional Law”, chaired by Prof. Jean Massot and Prof. Philippe Lauvaux, the “Societe’ de Legislation Comparee”.
Since 2011 he is lecturer at the School of Government of LUISS
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
HealthFRANCESCO CLEMENTI is Associate Professor in the field 12E2 (IUS/21, Comparative Public Law) in the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Perugia.He was researcher in Public Law at the same Faculty (2006-2007), and previously Research Fellow in Comparative Public Law in the Faculty of Law of the University La Sapienza, Rome (2004-2006), and PhD in “Theory of the State and comparative political Institutions” (Cycle XIV – 2003). In 1998, he won the annual Graduation prize by “Primo Levi Foundation”.
He is member of the Board of the Doctorate in Public Law (Università di Perugia) and professor of Italian and comparative constitutional law in the Master Program of the Institute for Defense Studies (I.A.S.D). He is component of the Working Group “Section Constitutional Law”, chaired by Prof. Jean Massot and Prof. Philippe Lauvaux, the “Societe’ de Legislation Comparee”.
Since 2011 he is lecturer at the School of Government of LUISS
In Italy, Plans for an Easter Blessing Yield a Lawsuit for a Public School
TO LAWYER(S) IN ITALY. HELP IS ON THE WAY FOR BETTORS AND SOME OTB EMPLOYEES AND A PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION THAT DOES NOT WANT TO END UP LIKE NYC OTB, BANKRUPT.
https://plus.google.com/106124193420148841642/posts
Europe|In Italy, Plans for an Easter Blessing Yield a Lawsuit for a Public School
BOLOGNA,
Italy — The 16 board members of Giosuè Carducci Elementary School took
their seats, chatting amicably, until the agenda turned to Easter. The
board had already agreed to let a Roman Catholic priest offer a blessing
at their public school. Now the questions involved setting the date and
whether to hold the prayer in the gym.
And the matter of the lawsuit.
“I
am absolutely against this motion,” declared Monica Fontanelli, a board
member, who accused the majority of trying to pre-empt the Thursday
court hearing by setting the blessing for an earlier date. “It is wrong
that this board is not waiting for the decision of the administrative
court.”
Yet
others quickly countered that most of the school’s students were
Catholic, and that the rights of the majority mattered, too. “I support
holding it in the garden so that even passers-by get a blessing!”
offered one board member, jokingly.
No country in the world is more synonymous with Catholicism than Italy,
where the overwhelming majority of the population is baptized as
Catholics, and where the pope lives in a city-state surrounded by the
heart of Rome.
In
Bologna, like so many of Italy’s ancient cities, the history and
landscape are intertwined with Catholicism. A statue of the city’s
patron saint, Petronius, rises between the city’s two medieval towers.
Catholic churches are scattered throughout a city center known for its
elegant sidewalks shaded by porticoes.
Yet
here, as elsewhere in Italy, Catholicism has long been in retreat.
Attendance at Mass has fallen sharply over the decades as many Italians
became either nonpracticing or nonbelievers.
The
case over the blessing at the school is part of a continuing debate in
Italy over where exactly the church-state boundary lies. A similar case
arose at the same school years ago when the issue was whether a priest
could offer an Easter prayer in a classroom during school hours. A local
court prohibited the prayers.
This
time, the prayers are voluntary and, while still held on school
grounds, timed for shortly after the closing bell of classes. A group of
parents and teachers filed a legal action, arguing that the prayers are
unconstitutional.
Supporters
of the voluntary prayers say they fall within the latitude that Italy
allows for the church. Italy is a secular state but has a special treaty
with the Vatican, which provides that public schools offer an hour of voluntary weekly religious instruction, coordinated by local dioceses.
“The
majority of teachers and students in public schools are Catholics,”
said the Rev. Vittorio Zoboli, one of the priests who made the requests
to hold prayers. “So they are happy to have this.”
Even
as church attendance declines, the influence of the church on politics
and public life remains significant — and has been upheld in Italian and
European courts.
In 2011, the European Court for Human Rights overturned its own earlier decision
and ruled that state schools in Europe could hang crucifixes in
classrooms, concluding that they were “an essentially passive symbol
whose influence on pupils was not comparable to that of didactic speech
or participation in religious activities.”
That second ruling came after an uproar in Italy when the crucifixes were initially banned.
The
latest prayer controversy in Bologna emerged after priests began their
Lenten ritual of canvassing their parishes, carrying supplies of
consecrated water, in order to offer Easter blessings to shops, offices
and individual homes.
“There are many people who have never been to church — but they are happy to have their houses blessed!” Father Zoboli said.
Yet
a group of parents and teachers was not happy about blessing Giosuè
Carducci Elementary and two other schools in the same district. Angela
Giardino, a mother of a Carducci student, said she sent an email to all
the parents of her child’s classmates, trying to stir a discussion,
warning that the prayer infringed on the rights of non-Catholics and
could violate the Constitution.
“No
one answered me,” said Ms. Giardino, who added that she did not oppose
religion or anyone’s right to practice it (or their right to receive a
blessing) — only where it is conducted.
“Everything has a place, and the school is not the place for these blessings,” she said.
European countries delineate the church-state split in different ways. France is famous for its laïcité, a strict division that largely forbids religious expression in the public sphere.
“In
Italy, it is different,” said Francesco Clementi, a constitutional law
expert at Perugia University. “We do not have religion in the state, but
we have tradition and relationships that link the Italian Republic with
the Catholic Church.”
Many
Italian schools have nativity scenes around Christmas or hold
assemblies to sing Christmas songs. The argument is that these rituals
are part of the cultural legacy of Italy, a point contested by staunch
secularists.
“Is
it fair that everyone has to see this, even if some students are
Muslims, Buddhist or atheists?” asked Adele Orioli, legal adviser to
Italy’s Union of Atheists and Rationalistic Agnostics.
The Rev. Raffaelle Buono, who oversees religious education in the Bologna schools, disagreed.
“What
do you mean by this term ‘laity’?” he asked. “Two words: inclusive and
exclusive. The French way of understanding laity is to exclude. You have
to ban every religious symbol. In Italy, by tradition, we understand
laity as inclusive. You have to put value on your ‘belongings,’
including your religious ‘belongings.’”
He added: “It is not a matter of faith. It is a matter of belonging to a tradition.”
In
Bologna, the prayer controversy quickly rippled into local newspapers
and stirred anger on social media against the complainants. Some said
that liberals were willing to make special accommodations to Muslims but
not Catholics. Others warned that stripping schools of Christian
rituals would open society to an Islamic invasion.
The
March 12 school board meeting at Carducci Elementary was also
contentious. The board had selected March 20, 21 and 28 for prayers at
Carducci and the two other schools in the district. With anger boiling
over, the board voted for the dates.
“The
debate was heated because there is a lot of hatred against anything
that has to do with religion,” said Giovanni Prodi, 43, the board
chairman, after the meeting. “I am a practicing Catholic. I think it is a
good thing.”
The
court hearing will be held Thursday, and Italy’s association of
atheists and agnostics is also a party to the case. “We are defending
the laity of the state and of public schools,” Ms. Orioli said.
No
matter what the court decides, the decision’s impact will come. The
prayers were held at all three district schools last Friday and
Saturday. The prayer scheduled for this Saturday, two days after the
court hearing, has been canceled.
Dear H.E. Most Reverend Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano:
I am an employee of Nassau OTB, a New York public benefit corporation, that closes on Roman Catholic Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday in preference to the same holy days observed by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church on different Sundays. NY Const Art 1, Sec 3 precludes the State of New York from such religious preference. I am not a Christian and believe that people should be able to freely choose their days of work, prayer and/or betting on horses at Nassau OTB, a public benefit corporation. The New York State Lottery is open every day of the year and the slot machines in NY are open every day of the year. I would like to be able to work on days that others may observe as days of prayer. I acknowledge that the US is a Christian nation and the only religious holiday on the US federal calendar is Christmas.
Would the Church express its opinion on this matter to its member Governor Andrew Cuomo who is my Governor and charged with seeing that the laws of the State of NY are "faithfully" executed?
My contact information is set forth below along with a background article. More background material is available upon request.
Sincerely yours,
Jackson Leeds
Nassau OTB Cashier
1528 Kenneth Avenue
Baldwin, NY 11510-1601
(516)223-8407 (home)
> LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
clementi
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI
Health
FRANCESCO CLEMENTI is Associate Professor in the field 12E2 (IUS/21, Comparative Public Law) in the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Perugia.He was researcher in Public Law at the same Faculty (2006-2007), and previously Research Fellow in Comparative Public Law in the Faculty of Law of the University La Sapienza, Rome (2004-2006), and PhD in “Theory of the State and comparative political Institutions” (Cycle XIV – 2003).
In 1998, he won the annual Graduation prize by “Primo Levi Foundation”.
He is member of the Board of the Doctorate in Public Law (Università di Perugia) and professor of Italian and comparative constitutional law in the Master Program of the Institute for Defense Studies (I.A.S.D). He is component of the Working Group “Section Constitutional Law”, chaired by Prof. Jean Massot and Prof. Philippe Lauvaux, the “Societe’ de Legislation Comparee”.
Since 2011 he is lecturer at the School of Government of LUISS
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